Taiwan make bad start to Fed Cup tie in Kazakhstan

By Tony Phillips / Staff reporter

Fri, Feb 08, 2013 - Page 20

Taiwan had a day to forget in the Fed Cup on Wednesday as Chan Chin-wei and Chang Kai-chen both lost to lower-ranked opponents in a defeat by Uzbekistan.

Nigina Abduraimova beat Chan 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 before Akgul Amanmuradova prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 over Chang to leave Taiwan with an uphill battle to qualify from Group B of the Group 1 Asia/Oceania tie being played in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.

Abduraimova, 18, improved her Fed Cup singles record to 4-10 with her victory over Chan, who at No. 262, is ranked 41 places higher than her opponent from Tashkent.

World No. 149 Amanmuradova then put more than 10 years of Fed Cup experience to good use in beating the 114th-ranked Chang.